April 8, 2013 - Monday

The Future of Doing Business in Japan

What would it be like for you to have a business partner in Japan? Have you considered attending networking events to discover some of the latest new business opportunities happening in Japan?

Japan has had some difficult times, but its economy is vitally important to American businesses. Our exports to Japan totaled $60 billion last year, and so far this year they are running 10% higher, despite the problems caused by the earthquake and tsunami. So what does the future hold for U.S. companies doing business with Japan?

Explore these and other business questions with Claudine Locascio, the Executive Director of Japan America Society of Colorado (JASC), Bo Martinez, Director of Economic Development Department of the City and County of Broomfield, and Yumi Nakajima Ellermeier, International Business Consultant at YUNA Consulting.

Denver's much-anticipated, first nonstop regular service flight between Denver and Tokyo will start on May 12, 2013. The nonstop flight is expected to create jobs and generate a significant economic impact. The connectivity with the Pacific countries via Tokyo is predicted to bring more travelers and help attract new business from Asia.

Join us to explore "New Business Opportunities" and what this will mean for Colorado.

Bo Martinez is currently the Economic Development Director for the City and County of Broomfield. Bo works to establish and leverage existing networks and partnerships with the public and private sectors, greater engagement with prospective and existing businesses, sustain and increase employment, stimulate private investment and revitalization to solidify and grow Broomfield’s economic base now and for the future. Bo is a Colorado native who brings over 18 years of experience in community and economic development, planning, transportation, housing, redevelopment, program development and partnerships with the public and private sectors.

Prior to Broomfield, he served as an Economic Development Administrator with the City and County of Denver. While there, he directed Denver’s Neighborhood Marketplace Initiative, managed Business Services programs including business expansion, business retention and Community Development Block Grant budgets, and directed commercial revitalization and public infrastructure development. Bo was also Economic Development Manager for the City of Phoenix, where he developed and managed a light rail transit oriented development program. Martinez owned and operated a small business and was an Executive Director for a non-profit neighborhood development organization. Bo earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and biology and a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning, both from the University of Colorado.

Claudine Locascio is the Executive Director of the Japan America Society of Colorado, a Colorado 501c3 non-profit organization that was established in 1989 in order to strengthen cooperation and build understanding between Colorado and Japan through business, cultural, and educational programming. With a background in non-profit management and international finance specializing in Japan, this position is the perfect blending of skills for Claudine.

Claudine studied intensive Japanese language as well as Japanese culture and literature as a selected member of the Associated Kyoto Program at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan. Each year, the AKP selects fifty students from the United States to take part in this elite international exchange for one year. Upon returning to the United States and graduating from Bucknell University, Claudine worked at the Industrial Bank of Japan Trust Company in New York City where she supported Japanese institutions located in the United States with trust and custody accounts. She then spent the next six years at Lehman Brothers, rising to Vice President of International Sales, selling fixed income bonds to Japanese financial institutions located in New York City. Particular areas of focus were mortgage-backed securities, emerging markets, U.S. treasuries, and corporate bonds.

After moving to Colorado in 1998, Claudine switched careers into the non-profit sector. Her first position was with the Japan America Society of Colorado as the Administrative Director of the organization. Looking to expand her overall knowledge of non-profit management, Claudine worked with the Western Regional Children’s Advocacy Center, Think360 Arts, and Saint Vincent de Paul School. Each of these organizations contributed in a unique way to a wide variety of necessary skills particular to the non-profit sector, including grant writing, database formation and management, website development and management, advocacy, marketing, and administration. In January 2012, Claudine returned to Japan America Society of Colorado as Executive Director, bringing her background and experience full-circle. Claudine has been married for 18 years and has two sons.

Yumi Nakajima Ellermeier is the president of YUNA Consulting, LLC. She established the consulting firm to facilitate the Colorado marketplace for a strong strategic planning and business development with Japan. She was a recipient of Energy Sector Entrepreneurial Pilot Project Scholarship from State Energy Sector Partnership Grant via Colorado Department of Labor and Employment in 2012. She was one of the top 10 finalist of a business plan competition, TOMODACHI Tohoku Challenge, hosted by U.S.-Japan Council that was a new business competition focused on entrepreneurial enterprise-based solution to economic challenges in the post-quake Tohoku region of Japan in 2012. She currently serves the Asian American Advisory Committee as a board member, Inclusiveness Committee at Mental Health America Colorado as a committee member, and the Broomfield Sister City Committee as the vice chair.

Yumi is a member of Japanese American Citizens League, Women in Sustainable Energy (WISE), Net Impact, Japan America Society of Colorado (JASC), Colorado Renewable Energy Society (CRES), and Connected Organizations for a Responsible Economy (CORE). She was one of the top 5% most viewed LinkedIn profiles in 2012 among 200 million users. She formerly worked at the Robert Graham Center of American Academy of Family Physicians, TRG Consulting Global, and NTT America. She has served as a community volunteer in Washington, DC for 10 years at the Smithsonian Institute, Women for Women International, IONA Senior Services, and Program for Academic Leadership Skills (PALS). She has an undergraduate degree from University of Maryland, College Park. She received a graduate certificate for Project Management from Georgetown University. She holds a Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute.